Belfast Giants

Belfast Giants
City	Belfast, Northern Ireland
League	Elite Ice Hockey League
Founded	2000
Home arena	SSE Arena Belfast
Colours	White, red & teal
Owner(s)	Odyssey Trust
Head coach	Adam Keefe
Captain	Blair Riley
Website	www.belfastgiants.com
Franchise history
2000–present	Belfast Giants
Championships
Regular season titles	2001–02, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2013-14
Playoff championships	2003, 2010
Knockout Cups	2008–09
Challenge Cups	2008–09, 2017-18

The Belfast Giants are an ice hockey team from Belfast, Northern Ireland that compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League. Home games are played at the 9,000-capacity SSE Arena Belfast.

They have a dedicated 'Boomerang Corner' which sits a large group of fans who generate noise and start most of the chants. It is named in memory of long time Giants fan Stewart Boone.

History

The Giants had originated in 2000 and played their first match against Ayr on 1 December. Initially members of the now defunct Superleague, the Giants won the championship in 2001–02 and were play-off champions in 2002–03. With the Superleague's demise, there were concerns that the Giants would not survive because of major financial problems which had developed. Running up debts of £600,000 and facing the threat of liquidation creditors voted to accept 20p in the pound allowing the club to continue. One company was believed to be owed nearly £65,000.^[1]

However, with the creation of the new Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) for the 2003–04 season, the Giants survived. The Giants finished 4th in the league's first season, but failed to reach the post-season play-offs..

The Giants finished runners up in the 2004–05 season behind the Coventry Blaze but were winners of the Cross-over League Cup, which was played with teams from the BNL.

In 2005, The Giants unveiled NHL All-Star and Olympic Gold Medal winner, Theo Fleury who made his debut against the Edinburgh Capitals. The Giants won 11–2, with Fleury scoring a hat-trick. With 4 additional assists and a fight, he was named man of the match.

Besides Fleury, several other players who previously played in the NHL have played for the Giants; Paul Kruse, Jason Ruff, Paxton Schulte, and Jason Bowen, Bowen and Kruse having played almost 600 games between them. Kevin Westgarth is the latest incumbent from the NHL to don the Giants jersey, arriving from the Calgary Flames after several seasons in North America's top league.

Team culture

With an average attendance of around 4,561, the Giants are one of twelve Elite league ice hockey squads in the UK. They are the 3rd best supported team in the UK and 70th in Europe. The average attendance in the Elite Ice Hockey League is 2,678.^[2]

Sectarianism had long been seen as a significant problem in some sports in Northern Ireland. When the club was established, the Belfast Giants were keen that the club not attach itself to a particular faith or community, instead wanting to represent Belfast as a whole. A number of policies were subsequently introduced to try to ensure this. Particular clothing (such as association football replica shirts), which might have displayed a person's political or religious affiliation, were banned and flags were not permitted to be brought into the arena. The national anthem of the United Kingdom, traditionally played before games at other arenas in the Elite League, is not played before Giants games. These policies have been successful and the Giants have quickly built a large and enthusiastic fanbase who did not have to fear the sectarianism that marred other sports in Northern Ireland.

Facts

Sponsors: Stena Line (Main Sponsor 2011–present)

Founded: 2000 into the British Ice Hockey Superleague

Primary Arena: SSE Arena Belfast, (capacity 8,000)

Training Arena: Dundonald International Ice Bowl

Uniform Colours: White, Red, Teal, Black

Logo Design: shows Finn McCool with a hockey stick.

Mascot: Finn McCool and Subman (Sponsorship Deal with Subway)

Motto: "In the land of the Giants, everyone is equal".

2018–19 roster

Last Updated: 13 August 2018

Netminders^[3]

Number	Player	Place/Date of Birth	Catches	Acquired	Joined from
31	Stephen Murphy[4]	Dundee, Scotland (1981-12-11) 11 December 1981	L	2009	Manchester Phoenix (EIHL)
34	Tyler Beskorowany[5]	Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (1990-04-28) 28 April 1990	L	2018	Edinburgh Capitals (EIHL)
35	Andrew Dickson[6]	Ballymoney, Northern Ireland (1987-11-02) 2 November 1987	L	2011	Invicta Dynamos (ENL)

Defence^[3]

Number	Player	Place/Date of Birth	Shoots	Acquired	Joined from
2	Kendall McFaull[7]	Rosetown, Saskatchewan, Canada (1992-04-10) 10 April 1992	R	2018	Saskatchewan Huskies (U Sports)
5	Guillaume Gélinas[8]	Quebec, Quebec, Canada (1993-06-13) 13 June 1993	L	2018	HC '05 Banská Bystrica (Tipsport Liga)
6	Spiro Goulakos[9]	Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1990-02-16) 16 February 1990	L	2017	Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL)
7	Mark Garside[10]	East Kilbride, Scotland (1989-03-21) 21 March 1989	L	2010	Edinburgh Capitals (EIHL)
9	Jim Vandermeer[11]	Caroline, Alberta, Canada (1980-02-21) 21 February 1980	L	2016	Kloten Flyers (NLA)
10	Curtis Leonard[12]	Napanee, Ontario, Canada (1992-09-23) 23 September 1992	L	2018	Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL)
23	Paul Swindlehurst[13]	Blackrod, England (1993-05-25) 25 May 1993	L	2018	Manchester Storm (EIHL)

Forwards^[3]

Number	Player	Place/Date of Birth	Shoots	Position	Acquired	Joined from
8	Lewis Hook[14]	Peterborough, England (1996-08-18) 18 August 1996	L	LW	2018	Milton Keynes Lightning (EIHL)
12	Kyle Baun[15]	Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1992-05-04) 4 May 1992	R	RW	2018	Toronto Marlies (AHL)
15	Darcy Murphy[16]	Marysville, Ontario, Canada (1992-08-24) 24 August 1992	L	LW	2017	Tulsa Oilers (ECHL)
19	Colin Shields[17] A	Glasgow, Scotland (1980-01-27) 27 January 1980	R	C	2008	Newcastle Vipers (EIHL)
21	Francis Beauvillier[18]	Sorel, Quebec, Canada (1993-10-22) 22 October 1993	L	C/LW	2018	Manitoba Moose (AHL)
24	Jonathan Ferland[19] A	Sainte-Marie, Quebec, Canada (1983-02-09) 9 February 1983	R	RW	2017	Vienna Capitals (EBEL)
25	Blair Riley[20] C	Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada (1985-11-01) 1 November 1985	L	LW	2016	Stockton Heat (AHL)
39	Patrick Dwyer[21]	Spokane, Washington, USA (1983-06-22) 22 June 1983	R	RW	2018	SønderjyskE Ishockey (Metal Ligaen)
61	Hunter Bishop[22]	Fairbanks, Alaska, USA (1987-09-05) 5 September 1987	L	LW	2018	HC TWK Innsbruck (EBEL)
74	Matt Towe[23]	Sheffield, England (1988-01-07) 7 January 1988	R	F	2016	Guildford Flames (EPIHL)
77	Josh Roach[24]	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (1992-07-23) 23 July 1992	R	F	2018	Saskatchewan Huskies (U Sports)
83	Dustin Johner[25]	Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada (1983-03-06) 6 March 1983	R	C/RW	2017	EC VSV (EBEL)
89	Jonathan Boxill[26]	Ascot, England (1989-04-25) 25 April 1989	R	C	2018	Milton Keynes Lightning (EIHL)
91	David Rutherford[27]	Ladner, British Columbia, Canada (1987-04-30) 30 April 1987	R	RW	2016	Edinburgh Capitals (EIHL)

Captains

Nat	Name	Tenure
	Jeff Hoad	2000-02
	Paul Kruse	2002-03
	Jason Ruff	2003-04
	Shane Johnson	2004-05
	George Awada	2005-09
	Colin Shields	2009-11
	Jeremy Rebek	2011-12
	Adam Keefe	2012-17
	Blair Riley	2017-

Head coaches

No.	Nat	Name	Tenure
1		David Whistle	2000-03
2		Rob Stewart	2003-04
3		Tony Hand	2004-05
4		Ed Courtenay	2005-08
5		Steve Thornton	2008-10
6		Doug Christiansen	2010-13
7		Paul Adey	2013-14
8		Steve Thornton	2014-15
9		Derrick Walser	2015-17
10		Adam Keefe	2017-

Honours

2000–01

• ISL Second Team All-Star: Kory Karlander

2001–02

• Superleague Champions
• ISL First Team All-Star: Mike Bales, Rob Stewart, Kevin Riehl, Sean Berens, Jason Ruff

2002–03

• Superleague Playoff Champions
• ISL First Team All-Star: Robby Sandrock, Paxton Schulte
• ISL Second Team All-Star: Ryan Bach, Kevin Riehl

2003–04

• EIHL First Team All-Star: Jason Ruff

2004–05

• British Cross-League: 1st Place
• EIHL First Team All-Star: Tony Hand
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Martin Klempa and George Awada

2005–06

• Elite League Champions
• EIHL First Team All-Star: Theo Fleury and Ed Courtenay
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Mike Minard, Todd Kelman and George Awada
• Vic Batchelder Memorial Trophy: Nathan Craze

2008–09

• EIHL Challenge Cup Champions
• EIHL Knock Out Cup Champions
• EIHL First Team All-Star: Paul Deniset

2009-2010

• EIHL Play-off Champions
• EIHL First Team All-Star: Stephen Murphy and Colin Shields
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Michael Jacobsen and Jeff Szwez

2010-2011

• EIHL First Team All-Star: Jon Gleed
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Stephen Murphy

2011–12

• Elite League Champions
• EIHL First Team All-Star: Stephen Murphy and Jeff Mason
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Jeremy Rebek and Robert Dowd

2012–13

• Erhardt Conference Winners
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Robbie Sandrock

2013–14

• Elite League Champions
• Erhardt Conference Winners
• EIHL First Team All-Star: Rob Sandrock, Calvin Elfring and Kevin Saurette
• EIHL Second Team All-Star: Stephen Murphy, Jeff Szwez and Evan Cheverie

2017–18

• EIHL Challenge Cup Champions

References

External links

• Official website
• Kingdom of the Giants (News and forum site run by fans)
• Belfast Giants live stream (Blog by Sports Fans)